Welcome to Capitola, California!The small Central Coast town of Capitola boasts cool seaside weather and is a shoppers' paradise, from the Capitola Mall on 41st Avenue to the popular Esplanade area of shops and restaurants. The Esplanade also hosts the Capitola Art and Wine Festival during the autumn.

According to the Capitola Historical Museum, the town's name comes from the feisty, cross-dressing heroine of The Hidden Hand, a popular (and still in-print) 1859 adventure novel written by E.D.E.N. Southworth.